Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Can you find my children in this picture? Yes. Micah is sliding down an extremely tall slide and going very fast, and Grey is climbing up a ladder taller than me with no help.

When we were staying with my grandparents in Virginia a few weeks ago, I was kind of under the weather. Which means, every time my kids napped, I napped too. (Plus, it was a vacation! Who needs a better excuse than that?)
But several afternoons, after the three of us managed to drag ourselves out of bed- I'd be standing there bleary eyed and yawning, and not quite ready to be awake, and say, "Okay. Let's do this. To the park."
"You are an awesome mom," said my Grandma. "You're so tired, but you're taking your kids to the park!"

So I'm here to correct this apparently common misconception.Lazy moms take their kids to the park.

If we stay home, I have to entertain.
I have to run interference with toys and bickering.
I have to clean up after my children.
I also feel like, if I'm home, I might as well fold that stupid load of laundry just sitting there.

But at the park?
I sit on a bench.
Sometimes I shout things to my kids, like "Don't throw dirt!" Or "I AM watching you! Just go down!"

Even sitting at home, watching a movie actually requires more work than going to a park.
Because my kids get antsy. So they start mindlessly getting out toys and abandoning them all over the living room. They become too distracted by the movie to want to do or say anything, but start whining and hurting each other from opposite sides of the couch.
Then the movie ends and they cry and want another, plus they're in a weird limbo between being super hyper and being super tired and lazy from lying still for so long. So they're fidgety (and did I mention whiney, yet?).
So we go to the park.

They run out all their energy.
They play together and with no toys to fight over, there's almost zero bickering.
They get to watch big kids, and learn about social interactions.
They get to take risks and be crazy, by doing things like climbing giant ladders or going down slides backwards, so they don't feel the need to take risks and be crazy at home by climbing up bookcases or jumping from countertop to countertop.

And did I mention? I get to sit on a bench.
In the shade of a tree.
I eat snacks I brought for my kids, or call my mom, or scroll through Pinterest on my phone.
It's pretty much perfect.

With winter approaching, I'm kind of panicked about staying indoors so much! Any suggestions of things to do to run out some energy in the winter? Especially if it's free!

4 comments:

Love your blog! All I have to say is IKEA free play place with supervision and you can go get a snack and read a book or take a nap on one of the couches "your testing out" or you know shop.There is that too.

My dudes don't like staying in one spot too long and actually prefer the open fields to the park. So we spend most of our time at the park running and chasing each other. If I'm not there with them, participating, they get ticked off. Going to the park is actually work for me! But we have a park right across the street from our house so it's not too bad.